The Strong Towns Podcast Has the "American Dream" Made Us Miserable?
Nov 24, 2025
Diane Alisa, author of 'A Love Letter to Suburbia', shares her journey from suburban discontent to advocating for walkable, family-oriented communities. She highlights the downsides of the suburban dream, including materialism and isolation, arguing that it may have harmed rather than helped families. Diane discusses the importance of children's experiences and how suburban design often neglects their needs. She offers three practical steps for restoring community life, emphasizing empathy and strategic storytelling to challenge entrenched views.
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Suburbs Trade Wealth For Isolation
- The suburban experiment trades visible material wealth for poor quality of life and isolation.
- Diane Alisa realized urbanism gave language to longstanding dissatisfaction and revealed systemic design harms.
From Frustration In Utah To Urbanism
- Diane grew up in Utah suburbs and imagined bulldozing ugly sprawl long before she found urbanist language.
- Discovering urbanism (Jason Slaughter) gave her the words to describe lifelong discontent and push for change.
The American Dream Is Failing Families
- The 'American dream' single-family suburban ideal is fraying under housing costs, traffic, and cultural mismatch.
- Diane argues the suburban model is anti-family and undermines multigenerational living and community support.
